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Tony Finau added to US Ryder Cup team as captain’s pick

Ryder Cup roster now set as U.S. team gears up for tournament in Paris

By Dan Gelston AP Sports Writer

Monday, Sept. 10, 2018 3:23 PM

Tony Finau watches his tee shot on the first hole during round-robin play at the Dell Technologies Match Play golf tournament in March, 2018, in Austin, Texas. Finau was the final selection for the United States Ryder Cup team and was selected by team captain Jim Furyk.

Eric Gay/Associated Press file

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Tony Finau has been named to the Ryder Cup team, the final pick by U.S. captain Jim Furyk.

Finau joins Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods as Furyk’s four wild-card selections. Finau has 11 top-10s this season, including three in majors.

His appeal is that he makes a lot of birdies, which is critical in match play. He was paired with Furyk the first two days at the PGA Championship, and struggled in the opening round before he tied a championship record by making 10 birdies in the second round.

“He has an unbelievable body of work this year,” Furyk said. “All those top-10 finishes, the play in big championships and the majors, and then his current form, a second, a fourth and an eighth in the playoffs. He checked a lot of boxes and made it impossible not to pick him.”

Eight automatic qualifiers were set after the PGA Championship, so the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs was effectively an audition. Finau was runner-up (by four shots) in The Northern Trust, and then he tied for fourth at the Dell Technologies Championship.

The Ryder Cup team includes three rookies (Finau, DeChambeau and Justin Thomas) and nine major champions (with 31 total major victories).

The matches are Sept. 28-30 outside Paris.

Tony Finau added to US Ryder Cup team as captain’s pick

Tony Finau watches his tee shot on the first hole during round-robin play at the Dell Technologies Match Play golf tournament in March, 2018, in Austin, Texas. Finau was the final selection for the United States Ryder Cup team and was selected by team captain Jim Furyk.

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